Anyone riding a 650b bike?

Hi
i am thinking of buying something like a Giant trance 650b. I already have a Trek 29er hardtail plus a Giant reign 2006 and Kona Cindercone. I fancy a new full suspension bike and was wandering what you people think of the new 27.5 wheelsized bikes?
Passing fad or the future of mountain biking ?
Thanks.
C J

I've been riding one for about 8 months, I really like it. I can't really remember what a 26er feels like as I've been on 29ers for a few years now.
It's also longer travel than my 29ers, so again it's not really a like for like comparison.
I will say that it's fun, but if you find a good bike you like then it's always fun.
Most new bikes are going to be 650b or 29er so take your pick from either shell size ride some bikes and buy the one you like best.

I've been riding a PYGA 120 FS since May this year and found myself gelling with it straight away. It's quick, playful and I love riding it. Whether size of the wheel's has anything to do with it, I wouldn't say either way. It certainly suits my kinda riding really well, which is XC, did an Alps trip in the late spring and it's encouraging me to look for drops and small jumps, which I rarely did before.

got a kona process 153, only had it a few weeks, but its really really good, hard to say if its the wheelsize, suspension or the angles but its just very confidence inspiring! keep forgetting im not on my DH bike but still climbs well, BPW in a couple of weeks

My friend has one women's specific (Giant Trance ) and she loves it. I tried it and am confused. It climbs really well and corners better than my bike too. Took both bikes on some really tough short little climbs. Swapped bikes with said friend - she couldn't get up some of them on my bike (Trek fuel X8 - 3/4 yrs old) and I know she is a better climber than me.

On the climb I did twice I was in easiest gear on my bike having trouble keeping the front wheel down / little control. On her bike was no problem .

Not sure if it's geometry/ old technology on my old bike comparison or to do with wheel size.

On the climb I did twice I was in easiest gear on my bike having trouble keeping the front wheel down / little control. On her bike was no problem .

Not sure if it's geometry/ old technology on my old bike comparison or to do with wheel size.

If the problem was keeping the front wheel down then it has nothing to do with the wheelsize itself. That's a geometry issue and the trade-off should be that it is slightly easier to lift the front wheel when you do want to.

As with any bike, wheel weight tends to be the main detractor - try a 650 with light wheels and they don't have as much lag.

This is true in my experience. Not that I have any experience with 650b :-), but comparing 29ers with 26" bikes absolute wheel weight does seem to be a major factor. I had a few demo rides on 29ers (with OEM wheels/tyres) and found them to be sluggish on steep climbs (the ones where I'm coughing up a lung just to keep moving). Then I built up my own 29er with wheels (Hope/Arch + Racing Ralph) that were actually a bit lighter than my 26" set (Hope/Flow + Nobby Nic) and any sense of sluggishness was gone. Now winter has come and the Racing Ralph can't cope I've put Nobby Nics on the 29er and it is feeling more sluggish on those steep climbs than the 26" bike.

there are usually many far bigger/more important differences between two different bikes, than the change from 26 to 650B. From the bikes I have ridden it's quite hard to feel the difference between these wheel sizes - they do feel different to 29ers though.

Is there a situation on a bike where a heavier wheel is better? We may accept a heavier wheel in order to reap some other benefit (e/g. fitting tougher tyres) but would you ever deliberately make the wheels heavier if you didn't need to.

Just to be clear though, the difference in wheel weight (say, 400-600g for example)between 'heavy' and 'light' will only have a very small effect on climbing, as it is a tiny percentage of the total weight you have to lug up the incline. Gearing, gear choice and tyre choice and pressure will make more of a difference than a lighter wheelset.

Is there a situation on a bike where a heavier wheel is better? We may accept a heavier wheel in order to reap some other benefit (e/g. fitting tougher tyres) but would you ever deliberately make the wheels heavier if you didn't need to.

Maybe not better, but certainly inevitable. A downhill bike will undoubtedly have heavier wheels than a XC rig for obvious reasons. You could also argue that the extra weight translates better as centrifugal force, dragging the wheel over an obstruction that may knock a lighter wheel off line. The counterpoint is that the lighter wheel will accelerate and stop faster which makes it desirable in a DH wheel, but not to the detriment of strength - slightly less of an issue in a XC wheel.